<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Carry Me Home (though I am strong enough on my own) by orphan_account</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22966936">Carry Me Home (though I am strong enough on my own)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account'>orphan_account</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Truth That Hurts [6]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Funhaus (Video Blogging RPF), Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, F/F, F/M, FakeHaus, Femslash, M/M, Non-Traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Smut</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 10:33:47</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>7,115</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22966936</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Bruce has an informant he needs Elyse to get close to. But Elyse has never mentioned that her one weakness is tall, blonde, alphas.</p><p>Alannah, unfortunately, happens to fit all three of those categories.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Adam Kovic/Lawrence Sonntag/James Willems, Elyse WIllems/Alannah Pearce, Elyse Willems/James Willems</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Truth That Hurts [6]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1500620</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Carry Me Home (though I am strong enough on my own)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Come here, buddy. You know me, don’t you?”</p><p>Elyse is crouched on her hands and knees looking underneath the porch of an abandoned house just down her street. The mutt has been taking cues from her for the past month, and now she wants to try and get it some medical attention and bring it home. She thinks it’s about time they’re at that stage in their relationship.</p><p>The mutt creeps out slowly. It’s shaking all over as it stretches out its neck to sniff at Elyse’s outstretched hand as she offers a dog biscuit as a compromise. The dog takes the treat and it’s only with another bribe that it decides to come out far enough for Elyse to get a good look at it. It’s dirty and shaking, looks malnourished and a bit rough around the edges. Its ears are a bit chewed up and there’s a rough looking scar on its nose.</p><p>“You’re a good one, aren’t you?” she says. It has no collar, never has, but it licks at her hand when she goes in to scratch its neck.</p><p>When she’s able to touch it and soothe it, she carries the mutt to her car and sets it in the back seat where a blanket waits for it. The mutt is quiet as she makes the drive to Omar’s clinic. While he’s more trained to deal with patients of the human variety, he’s picked up his own skills as a vet. He has his own rescue dog and has been involved whenever the crew encounters a dog fighting ring. She’s sure he won’t mind if she stops by with this guy.</p><p>After she arrives, they get the mutt up on Omar’s examination table. Its legs shake badly, tail tucked harshly between its legs. Omar tries to make the examination quick, feeling for any sore spots in its legs or along its back, peeling back its lips to check its teeth and gums.</p><p>“Definitely dehydrated,” he says. “There’s a few scratches I can clean up a bit, but I’d suggest taking him to a vet to get a blood panel done just in case. Other than that he looks good. He’s been neutered, no mange that I can see. Just a good flea bath and some wet food and he’ll probably feel a bit better.”</p><p>“Great,” Elyse says. “I’ve been keeping my eye on him for a while now. It’s good to know that he’s not worse off.”</p><p>“He may have just been abandoned by his owners. He’s not that underweight which is a good sign.”</p><p>“Right. So you got any flea shampoo a girl can borrow?”</p><p>If there’s one thing Elyse is known for, it’s getting her way.</p>
<hr/><p>Benson, as the dog is named, starts to relax around her house. It takes a while for him to warm up to the rest of the crew whenever they visit or whenever she brings him to the warehouse. He has some medical issues that need to be treated with specialized medication, he hates loud noises, and he gets anxious if he’s left alone for too long. Elyse thinks he’s precious and always gives into him whenever he wants to join her and James on the bed.</p><p>“He has a bed you know,” James mumbles into the pillows when Benson slots in between them. He raises up a hand regardless without opening his eyes to scratch Benson’s fur.</p><p>“You try to deny him when he gives you those eyes.”</p><p>James will never admit it because he’s stupidly prideful like that, that he really loves Benson. If Elyse is running errands, she’ll come home to find James playing with him in the backyard, tossing a ball not too far for him to fetch or playing tug of war with a thick braided rope between them.</p><p>Benson fits in well with the rest of the crew. He becomes a treasured pet and family member, and they all give in and spoil him with treats. His calm disposition makes him a perfect cuddle buddy and therapy dog for the more anxious ones of the team. Especially for Adam when he’s nearing a heat or he’s just anxious in general and no one can do anything about it. Even Lawrence takes to playing with him on the floor when he’s in a weird mood.</p><p>He’s a sweet dog with big brown eyes and a gentle bark. He doesn’t make a lot of noise, but when he looks at you, it’s with pure adoration and love, and sometimes that’s what Elyse needs.</p><p>It’s not always easy living with James and by extension a polyamorous relationship. Don’t get it wrong; Elyse loves James. She wouldn’t have seen through a court house wedding if she didn’t love him. She appreciates his quirks and the way he gets playful in bed. How he likes to nuzzle against her and make her laugh because <em>he’s horrible and she loves that. </em>And it’s not like she’s jealous of this bond he has with Lawrence and Adam. It’s nice knowing James has someone he can go to when he has alpha problems. And Adam being an omega was generally a nice surprise. The bond the three of them have needs word put into it, and they take the time and energy to make sure things are balanced between them, and James needs something like that because Elyse knows she can’t be everything James needs, and she’s okay with that.</p><p>Because now she has Benson and she didn’t know until she had him that he was something she needed in her life.</p><p>Sometimes she forgets that she needs things, and while she’s been getting better with it over time, it can slip her mind that she’s not just a beta in a pack and that she exists beyond them.</p><p>She remembers talking to Adam about it one night when it was just the two of them. On worrying about your status and not being able to escape it. She knows being a beta isn’t all that bad. She doesn’t have to deal with heats or ruts, but what if she can’t be anything more than just this in-between state of alpha and omega? And she’s just stuck in this position of mediator for the rest of her life?</p><p>“I know people say the same about me,” Adam says. “I’m supposed to please people. Keep the peace. But sometimes I want to do my own thing. I don’t want to be boiled down to an extension of an alpha’s mate or a pack member. I can exist outside of it you know?”</p><p>“I think for me it’s like I don’t want to feel like I’m just here. Like I’m only existing and I only exist in the crew you know?”</p><p>Adam nods and chooses to lie out on the floor when Benson enters the room to give him pets and scratches. “Sometimes I do things just for the hell of it. Like I’ll do something dangerous and James or Lawrence will say I shouldn’t have done that, but I don’t care. I know it’s reckless, but I like going out and doing my own thing because that’s me. Sometimes it’s nice to just get away for a while.”</p><p>Elyse nods. It does sound nice. It’s taking a lot of her to not just pack up a car, get James and Benson into it, and drive off for an extended vacation.</p><p>It could also be that they haven’t done any big hits recently. The stagnation of waiting around and contemplating all the small things that build up and annoy her. Usually, she has no problem being a beta. The status thing doesn’t really matter to them. But now she can’t help but notice how middle ground she feels.</p><p>This comes to change when Bruce brings them all together the following week for a big meeting.</p><p>“It’s going to be a long haul,” he says. “It’s going to require a lot of networking, a lot of resources. We need to connect and reach out to other crews in the area.”</p><p>There are some groans in the room at the idea of partnering up.</p><p>“Don’t tell me,” Adam deadpans. “The Fakes.”</p><p>“Yes.”</p><p>More groans.</p><p>“You know what they’re like,” James says.</p><p>“I do, but we need to get into their territory, so I want us to <em>play nice.</em>”</p><p>“Yeah, but as a crew with <em>three </em>alphas and <em>two </em>omegas, you don’t think we’re going to but heads at all?” Lawrence says. “You’ve seen them in action. You know how volatile they can be.”</p><p>Bruce waves off the concerns. “It’s for the dramatics of it all. They’re just competitive. I bet if you sat down with them for five minutes you’d realize how fun they actually are. So I don’t want to hear any complaints. I want all of you on your <em>best </em>behaviour when we meet up, got it?”</p><p>There are some grunts of agreement which satisfies Bruce before he gives the heist material to work off of. Preliminary sketches to work off of, the target or object they’re going for. But before Elyse gets one of the copies, Bruce asks to see her in the next room. She follows him with Benson at her heels.</p><p>“So, I need you to do something else for me,” he says quietly enough so the others won’t overhear them.</p><p>“Yeah, sure. Go ahead.”</p><p>“I’ve got this contact. She’s in town for a while. Having her expertise on a job like this would be <em>invaluable, </em>but I need someone with a special skillset to go at it.”</p><p>“This better not be a honeypot situation.”</p><p>“It isn’t,” he says quickly. “I wouldn’t put any of you up to that sort of—no. It’s not. But she’s very particular when it comes to dealing with crews and people like us, and out of all of us, I thought you’d be the best fit for the job.”</p><p>She crosses her arms, gives Bruce the benefit of the doubt. “Let’s hear it.”</p><p>“Right, so, her name is Alannah. Originally from Australia, moved to Liberty City for a few years, then came out this way. She’s big in the party scene, professional DJ, so a lot of high class people, so she can get us into places that can get us to people. If she doesn’t feel right about us, then this whole thing doesn’t go through.</p><p>“So you want me to buddy up to her? Is that it?”</p><p>“It’s more than that. I want you to show her what we can do on a more positive side of things. She’s got pretty loose morals if she made a career in Liberty City among this type of crowd, but I don’t want her to look at us and see just another crowd of rabble rousers and drug dealers.”</p><p>She nods along. They want to extend a courteous hand to Alannah to make their relationship a beneficial one. They offer her what she wants within reason and she can therefore provide them with access to high-end events and expensive clientele. And Bruce chose her to do it because he trusts her the most to get it done.</p><p>“Right, so where’s she located now?”</p><p>“Usually on the beach during good surf weather. She likes the water. I bet you could meet her there. I already let her know I’d be sending one of you down to meet with her, so it’s up to you to hook, line, and sink her.”</p><p>“Shouldn’t be a problem.”</p>
<hr/><p>Taking Benson to the beach is usually one of Elyse’s highlights of the week. He’s not much of a water dog, but he understands the beach as play time and likes to walk along the water’s edge with his leash trailing behind him. There are dog and no-dog beach spots along the coast, but the further from the city and from the combed beaches they get into the unkempt parts of the coastline. Sometimes private beaches. Sometimes just stretches of coastline where there’s nothing. According to Bruce, this is where more professional surfers would congregate. The combination of the depth of the water, the wind’s direction, and the shape of the coast makes for some good surf.</p><p>Elyse goes walking along the water’s edge one late afternoon. Benson is happily sniffing at anything catches his interest. It’s nice to just get away for a while. It’s fairly relaxing, coming out this way. Up ahead she catches sight of the surfers. A group of them in their wetsuits with their ankle cords and surf boards. She tries to keep it casual, make it seem like she’s only out for a walk with her dog. She’s not dressed for swimming today, instead choosing a pair of beach shorts that sit at mid-thigh, a tank top, and a thin sweater she has tied around her waist. She’s carrying her sandals in one hand and wears a pair of neon-pink sunglasses with her hair up in a bun. Just basic white girl on a beach.</p><p>She’s done some preliminary research on Alannah, looked up her career and her work. She’s got this <em>amazing </em>long, platinum blonde hair. She advertises her music with samples, the mixes she makes. She has professional photos taken, a prominent social media presence, plus her accent isn’t as thick as Elyse thought it would be. Must be from her time living abroad.</p><p>She doesn’t make Alannah out among the other surfers, but she’s trying to play it casual. If two people are seen meeting up on a beach, one surfing, the other not, then people usually put two and two together in a negative light. She’s just here to survey at first. Having Benson here gives her a good excuse. Just one dog owner out on a walk.</p><p>She heads further up on the beach onto the warm sand to avoid the surfers. It’s getting pretty late in the day and it seems like most people are packing it in, wetsuits dangling from their waists as they dry off their boards for the night. She slows her pace, casually looks over and spots a glimpse of platinum hair.</p><p>Alannah is surrounded by a few of the surfers. She’s stripping off her wetsuit, revealing a black one piece underneath before she slips a thin skirt on and a tank top. Elyse is too caught up in looking at her, taking her in as she does with any suspect or target that Benson wanders away from her side. He’s intrigued by the surfers and heads over to them to sniff around. A friendly dog is always a nice treat, so when a few of the surfers come up to extend their hands, Benson responds positively and is swarmed by the surfers who lavish attention on him. When Elyse notices this, she dashes off to catch up with him.</p><p>“Benson! Benson, come here.”</p><p>But Benson doesn’t listen to her, only wags his tail with all the affection he’s receiving.</p><p>When she gets closer, she sees Alannah on her knees in the sand. Benson is snuffling up against her. “This your dog?” she asks.</p><p>Elyse nods. “Yeah. He got away from me. He’s a big people person.”</p><p>Now that she’s here, it’d be a good time to try and ask Alannah if she wants to go out for dinner. Or at the very least drinks because she’s not trying to come onto Alannah here. It’s just supposed to be a talk.</p><p>“He’s such a sweetheart. What’s his name?”</p><p>“Benson.”</p><p>Alannah smiles. “It suits him. What’s your name?”</p><p>“Elyse.”</p><p>“I’m Alannah. It’s nice to meet you. What brings you to the beach?”</p><p>“Oh, Benson likes the water. Well, not really. He likes to roll around in the sand and make a mess of my apartment afterwards.”</p><p>Alannah smiles and ruffles the fur on Benson’s neck. “He sounds like a treasure.”</p><p>“He is. He really is. You, uh, come here often?” she asks because she wants to keep Alannah here, see if she can work towards anything without being obvious to the bystanders.</p><p>“I surf, but I haven’t been here much. Some people I know suggested it to me so I decided to come and check it out.”</p><p>“You been in the city long?”</p><p>“Only two weeks. I’m still settling in if I’m honest. This city feels . . . very American to me in a way? With all those billboards and restaurant chains. I mean, I’ve been States’ side a while now, but this city feels entirely different.”</p><p>Elyse laughs a little. “It takes a while to get around, but once you know all the good spots it feels a little less overwhelming?”</p><p>“Oh yeah? I’ve only been exposed to Vinewood folk and their tastes are a little expensive to me. You know any good places?”</p><p>“I can think of a few.”</p><p>She takes Alannah to a place with a outdoor patio so Benson doesn’t have to be relegated to a post outside. They’re at a Mexican fusion restaurant. Old Mexican recipes with a modern twist to it. It’s fairly authentic, and Elyse likes the food, so it’s a good place to bring Alannah to after she’s changed out of her wetsuit into some appropriate street clothes and stored her board into her Jeep.</p><p>“Never been to this part of the city before,” she says, taking a sip from her water. Her hair is loose, dried in soft waves as it hangs over her shoulders.</p><p>“It’s touristy,” Elyse says, reaching down when Benson bumps her leg. “But most of the restaurants in this area promise a good time at a good price. This is just the one diamond among the rough.”</p><p>“Ooh, that bad, huh?”</p><p>“It’s not all bad. It’s just not Vinewood.”</p><p>“You been in the city long then?”</p><p>“Since I was fifteen? Yeah, moved here for when my parents got new jobs.”</p><p>A lie, really. She left her parents and ran off to the city. A pretty dumb move considering how young she was coming to a city like this, but she’d met James soon after.</p><p>“So you’re pretty knowledgeable of the city then.”</p><p>“I know some hotspots. I wouldn’t say I’m a travel guru, but it’s pretty close.”</p><p>They talk about living in Los Santos for a bit, swapping stories of what they’ve liked and disliked. At no point does Elyse mention Bruce or the crew or that she’s here to offer Alannah a range of services. Right now they’re just getting to know each other. Having dinner, taking it easy. It’s nice to have a moment like this.</p><p>After they’ve eaten, after Alannah clears her plate of everything including her side dishes from how hungry she is, Elyse is getting ready to pay up. But Alannah is quicker when the waiter arrives with the bill. She pulls out a credit card and settles it before Elyse can even get a word in edge wise. Alannah smiles.</p><p>“It’s the least I could do since you showed me to such a good restaurant. You can catch it next time.”</p><p>Elyse feels something bloom in her belly at the mention of next time.</p><p>As Alannah stands and gathers her belongings, she says, “There is an art festival coming up soon. It’s in this district that’s got a thriving hipster vibe. If that doesn’t turn you off, maybe we can go together.”</p><p>Elyse has to sit back to look up at her, and it’s now that she feels Alannah’s  height over her, the way her ray-ban sunglasses frame her face, the length of her hair, and her easy smile.</p><p>“Yeah. Yeah, I’d love to go.”</p><p>“Great. Can I see your phone?”</p><p>Elyse does as she asks and watches Alannah put her number into Elyse’s phone.</p><p>“Text me when you’re ready, yeah?”</p><p>Elyse nods mutely and barely manages to say goodbye as Alannah walks away.</p><p>It’s then a stiff breeze picks up for a moment, ruffles Alannah’s hair, and now that the salt water has dried and the smell of the beach has largely dissipated, Elyse smells it.</p><p>Alannah is 100% an alpha.</p>
<hr/><p>Elyse’s parents were both betas and the only alpha she had close in her life was James when she came to the city. She’d been at a bus stop late one night when she first arrived in Los Santos. She was fully prepared to sleep there, a really dumb move since she was fifteen and all alone. And James wasn’t much older, seventeen at the time, but he offered security and safety and was just as lost as she was at the time. They came to depend on each other and James wasn’t like any alpha Elyse had encountered before. He was brash and energetic and loud, but for her, he’d make himself smaller, listen to her every word. She appreciated that he did because it showed he cared and that he valued her.</p><p>But here’s the thing with Alannah. Alannah isn’t like any of the alphas in Elyse’s pack. Elyse knows those alphas and they’ve all got their distinctions. But Alannah is something else. Elyse only knows of one other female alpha. Jack. She’s in the Fake crew, their often rivals, and Elyse hasn’t had enough time to get to know Jack, so she doesn’t know if there are any differences between male and female alphas.</p><p>But maybe it has something to do with the fact that Elyse doesn’t have a lot of female friends outside of the crew. They’ve got informants and contractors, sure, but her entire pack is male. And maybe she’s just craving more female attention than she thought she would. The fact that Alannah is an alpha just makes her more charismatic.</p><p>“So you met her?” Bruce asks when they meet the next day to discuss what happened.</p><p>“Yeah. We had dinner.”</p><p>“And? Did you talk to her?”</p><p>“Not like that.”</p><p>“Well, why not!”</p><p>“Because it wasn’t the time, Bruce! We were just getting to know each other. I didn’t want to just come out with it while we were out in public like that. Give me a break here. You know what I’m good for.”</p><p>Bruce sighs. “As long as she knows who you are and what you’re here for, okay? Don’t forget that part.”</p><p>“I won’t, Brucie-baby.”</p><p>Bruce scrunches his face. “Don’t call me that.”</p><p>She messages Alannah on meeting up for the street festival and says she’s bringing Benson along. Alannah replies immediately positively and gives her a time and place to meet her at.</p><p>Benson is a good buffer to have with her, so Elyse has something to give her attention to and it’s not all hyper focused on Alannah. She’s not exactly nervous, but it’s a close feeling.</p><p>The street they’re on has been closed to traffic for the festival. It’s full of a lot of independent artists and artisans who are showing off their wares. A lot of homemade objects and special brew coffees and teas. Benson sticks close to her as they meander through the crowd. He’s not scared, but he is sticking close to what he knows.</p><p>“Is Benson okay here?” Alannah asks. “We can always move off to one of the side streets if that makes him more comfortable.”</p><p>Elyse stops to scratch at Benson’s ears. “Oh, he’ll be fine. He’s a bit people shy when there’s a lot going on. I’ll let you know if we’ve had our fill for the day.”</p><p>“Sweet.”</p><p>They wander a bit, check out what people are selling, and take time to buy some deep-fried truck food because when else are they going to have the chance to be self-indulgent. They get to talking about careers a bit. Elyse responds vaguely by saying she’s a freelancer. She steers the conversation more towards Alannah’s music career.</p><p>“I wouldn’t say I’m well known,” she says. “It’s only because I do a lot of high-end parties and my vibe happens to be what they’re looking for at them.”</p><p>While trying to downplay her fame, they’re approached by what Elyse calls ‘influencers.’ A lot of pretty girls with expensive phones and outfits and perfect hair, all calling out Alannah’s name and asking for a photo. Alannah is as cool as ever about it and poses for a few photos as Elyse tends to Benson a few feet away.</p><p>“Sorry about that,” she says and they fall in line side by side again. “I didn’t mean for that to turn into a humble-brag, but I guess it did.”</p><p>Elyse laughs. “It’s fine. It’s interesting that you don’t seem phased by it.”</p><p>“I try to not let it affect me. Like I make music, put beats together and have a fun time mixing stuff, but I like to think I exist on the music sidelines and not get caught up in all that, you know?”</p><p>Elyse doesn’t but she nods anyway because she enjoys listening to Alannah talk about what she likes doing and what makes her happy. Her voice is easy to listen to and Elyse is genuinely interested in learning about her life because it’s so different to what she knows. <em>Alannah </em>is so different to what she knows.</p><p>“Hey, wanna head to a club after this?”</p><p>“Just give me time to drop off Benson, and I’ll be there.”</p>
<hr/><p>James is watching her get ready on the bed. Benson is there at his side as he watches Elyse fix her hair and makeup. It took her a while to choose an outfit worthy of going to a club, but she thinks she’s got it. Leggings and a tank top. She plans on wearing her hair loose with a bit of product in to give it some texture. She often doesn’t get the chance to wear make-up, so she’s a bit rusty with it. She thinks this would be a good chance to wear a smokey eye, but she doesn’t have the skill for that, so she sticks to her neutral tone colour palettes and black mascara.</p><p>“Have you told Alannah yet?” he asks.</p><p>“No. I was thinking tonight. Get her to a quiet spot in the club and then explain it to her.”</p><p>“Elyse—“</p><p>“I got this, James. I don’t need you swooping in.” She feels a bit defensive. Maybe it’s because Alannah is another alpha and she wants to prevent the two from clashing. Not that they would, but this is her job. Alannah is . . . well, Alannah is her own person. She doesn’t belong to Elyse, but there is this feeling of wanting her to be a part of her life more than she is now.</p><p>“I wasn’t going to.” James comes up off the bed and drops to his knees at the edge of the chair she sits on in front of the vanity mirror. He noses along her neck, and she lets him take pleasure in the whole scenting thing. He needs to be reassured and is seeking supplication. Typical alpha behaviour, especially for James.</p><p>“I want to take my time on this one,” she says, fixing some earrings into her piercings. She sort of regrets letting her nose piercing close in. She thinks Alannah might appreciate that look on her. “I’ll tell her tonight, and start the ball rolling.” Bruce didn’t give her a time frame to work with, so she’s mostly been flying on her own.</p><p>“You know I don’t mind she’s an alpha, right?”</p><p>“So?”</p><p>“’lyse. I know you. I know you have a type. It’s fine.”</p><p>“I know.”</p><p>He’s referring to their relationship. The open part of the marriage and accepting that they both choose to love other people. She couldn’t deny that part of herself and she couldn’t deny that part of James. She’s just never found someone else like James has before. Small flirtations throughout the years, but nothing like a bond. Not that she can bond, being a beta, but she’s never built a serious connection with anyone else besides the pack.</p><p>James kisses at her neck and nips at it lightly. He’s such a hopeless flirt.</p><p>“Take care of Benson while I’m away. I’ll call if anything goes wrong.”</p><p>“Of course. I trust you.” They kiss lightly before she leaves the house for the cab parked outside.</p>
<hr/><p>The club is one of the modern ones with a lot of neon lights, high ceilings, and a sound system with a bass set-up that won’t quit. Alannah comes to find her and pull her past the line when she texts her that she’s arrived. She grabs Elyse’s hand and pulls her along.</p><p>“Come on. One of the perks of coming with me. You get to skip the line. Now come on. Let’s have some fun.”</p><p>She’s immediately pulled into the throng of people where they get to the bar and Alannah orders them both a shot of something sweet.</p><p>“Helps the nerves, ya’know? Especially when it comes to clubbing.”</p><p>“I have to admit,” Elyse says, leaning in close so she doesn’t have to shout everything. “I haven’t been dancing in a while.”</p><p>“We should change that. C’mon. One more and then we’re out.”</p><p>It takes two more shots to get Elyse anywhere near the dance floor, but she goes as Alannah holds her hand and pulls her along. The music isn’t really her preferred choice, but the beat is easy to get into, and the three shots certainly loosened up her inhibitions about dancing. Alannah is magnetic. She’s easy to fall in line with, to follow her moves and forget they’re a part of a crowd.</p><p>They break away after a set to get some water and head up to one of the VIP sections. Of course, Alannah would be a VIP. It gives them access to some comfortable spots to lounge on and some balconies that give them the option of fresh air. Alannah leads Elyse outside where they can lean against the railing and catch their breath. Elyse can still feel the alcohol a bit, but the dancing and the copious amounts of water she’s drunk have helped a bit.</p><p>“I will say this city does have a ragin’ night life. It’s really growing on me,” Alannah says. Elyse watches as she tucks a piece of hair behind her ear. There’s a breeze around them, ruffling her hair to make her look that much more ethereal.</p><p>“I, I wouldn’t really know,” she stammers, trying to get her thoughts under control. “I’m not much of a club person.”</p><p>“Then what sort of person are you then? And don’t say dog. I already know that and Benson is adorable.”</p><p>If there were any better time to come out with it, it’d be now, but before she can get the words out, they’re interrupted by a group of women passing by to group over in the corner.</p><p>“Hey.” Alannah stretches out a hand to brush Elyse’s hair over her shoulder and guide her attention back to her. “What’s on your mind, gorgeous?”</p><p>Elyse has to pull back and laugh because 1) nerves and 2) she doesn’t know how to move forward with this situation until Alannah is offering her an out. “Want to head back to my place?”</p><p>And she nods.</p><p>Maybe this is how Adam feels when one of his alphas reassures him, takes control, and leads him along. When all other thoughts are fleeting because an alpha has shown themselves to be reliable and trustworthy.</p><p>Elyse is no omega. But in this moment, she feels like it.</p>
<hr/><p>Alannah has a condo with a beach view front. The place must cost her a fortune, but then again, she does all right for herself. It’s a nice respite from the noise of the club, and Alannah tells Elyse to make herself at home. Elyse takes this as an opportunity to look about the place to pick up on any personal touches. There’s not much here, but she hasn’t been in town long. There are some boxes set against one wall, but there are three different gaming consoles hooked up to the entertainment center.</p><p>“You like to play?” Elyse asks, looking over her shoulder briefly to see what Alannah is doing. Going through all her kitchen cabinets to find some food.</p><p>“Oh, that? Yeah. I like to game in my down time. It’s also a good stress reliever, you know?”</p><p>She returns with a bowl of strawberries, freshly washed, and sets it on the coffee table. They sit side by side. Elyse watches her pull a strawberry from the bowl and eat it. Delicately. One bite. And then two.</p><p>“Do you game at all?” Alannah asks.</p><p>“Not often. My job sort of keeps me busy.”</p><p>“Yeah. The freelancing. What sort of freelancing is it?”</p><p>“Well, uh.” It’s hard to think to think when Alannah is sitting so close to her and it’s just the two of them in her condo. Again, Alannah raises her hand to gently push back Elyse’s hair, and the touch sends a shock down her body. But it curls into something sour in her gut, and she knows she has to do her job her and not be distracted by her charisma.</p><p>“My job, it’s . . . I work for a crew. You were probably contacted by my boss, Bruce? I’m here to, uh, see if you’d like to work with us.” She doesn’t know why she feels so bad about this. About holding onto this information for so long and drawing it out and thinking that she was living in a fantasy.</p><p>Alannah, however, doesn’t seem perturbed, only amused as she reaches for another strawberry. For lack of anything better to do, Elyse reaches for one as well to keep herself occupied for the moment.</p><p>“I sorta figured. Bruce and I’ve been talking a bit since I came to town. He said he was sending someone down. I smelled a pack on you when I first met you, so I sorta put two and two together and hoped you were his guy.” She says it so matter-of-factly. Like she thought Elyse was already in the know that <em>she </em>knew.</p><p>God, she feels like an idiot now. She eats another strawberry, whole this time, because what else is she supposed to do? She can’t even look at her and not feel embarrassed that she needlessly over complicated this thing.</p><p>“Elyse, it’s okay. No hard feelings here. It’s not like I wasn’t already in the know. I know who I’m dealing with here.”</p><p>“Still,” she says. “I feel like I messed everything up. Made it more difficult in the end.”</p><p>“We can always start over. Forget everything that happened between us and just, hey. Hi. I’m Alannah.”</p><p>It gets Elyse to smile at the very least and laugh a little, chipping away at her nerves until she can actually turn to look at Alannah.</p><p>“What are we doing here?” she asks.</p><p>Alannah shrugs. “You tell me. I heard something about you and yours promising me things in return for my help and connections.”</p><p>Elyse nods. “That’d be about right.”</p><p>“Well, how far would you say those things can go?” Alannah’s hand finds the edge of Elyse’s shirt, follows the hem down where it dips in the neck. Gooseflesh rises in her wake.</p><p>“I mean, I already told Bruce I wasn’t going to be a part of a honeypot situation.”</p><p>Alannah grins. “A what?”</p><p>“Honeypot. You know. Offer up sex for favours.”</p><p>“Oh, yeah. No! Sorry. I don’t—I hope that’s not what you thought I was doing here. I’m just genuinely interested in you as, like, another human being with free will.”</p><p>“It’s okay. It just, it took me by surprise. I feel like if someone smells a pack on me, let alone an alpha, they’d usually back off.”</p><p>“I still can. We can just shake hands and get down to business. I have no qualms about that.”</p><p>But Elyse shakes her head. She’s curious about this, and she wants to see where it goes. Rarely does she meet people that grab her attention so fully. “As long as you don’t mind the fact that I’m in a pack and, you know, married to an alpha.”</p><p>Alannah taps the side of her nose. “I did get a whiff of them tonight. And they’re not the jealous type?”</p><p>“He isn’t, no. He has his own side thing going with another alpha and omega anyway. It’s a mutual understanding.”</p><p>“Wow. I’d love to meet this pack of yours. They sound like a fun bunch.”</p><p>“They do keep it lively, I guess. But, uh, on the subject of us?”</p><p>Alannah smiles. “I was just thinking of having some fun. Just the two of us. Could be no strings attached, but fair warning. I am very alpha when it comes to my partners.”</p><p>Elyse hums and moves a bit closer to her on the couch. “Well, seeing as I’m in a pack with three alphas and an omega that likes to posture as one, I’m pretty much down for anything.” Her heart is still racing. She’s never been with a female alpha and her general experience with other women was limited to her brief stint in college.</p><p>But it starts slow. They don’t even start kissing until much later in the night after they continue to talk and get to know each other. Get over the previous awkwardness between them.</p><p>They talk a bit about past relationships. The status of those individuals. How Alannah has been in a relationship with an alpha and omega before. “To be honest, I could take or leave either of them. I’m not drawn to just one type.”</p><p>“But . . . do you have a type?” Elyse asks because everyone sort of does, and with the way Alannah has been fixating on her hair.</p><p>“I feel like that should be obvious about now.” And then Alannah’s hand is sliding to the side of her neck to hold her there as she leans in to kiss her.</p><p>Elyse’s mind immediately jumps to picking out the differences between Alannah and James. She can’t help it. Alannah’s lips are much softer, fuller than James’s, but she kisses slower with more tongue, coaxing Elyse to opening herself up further to her ministrations and relax against the couch.</p><p>She falls back to lie out on the cushions, Alannah slotting their legs together. It’s nice to just touch and kiss, to touch another woman not in the life that she lives. Alannah is so much softer and less calloused than Elyse is. She’s much more concerned and aware of where she places her hands on Elyse, as if taking her time to appreciate her.</p><p>Alannah’s hands start to work their way under Elyse’s shirt and Elyse raises her arms to let the layers slip off. Alannah sits up for a moment to pull hers off and her bra with it. Elyse feels her breath stutter. The intensity has jumped from a solid four to a rather intimidating eight, and Elyse can feel herself shaking a bit as she (nervously) raises a hand to cup Alannah’s breast, thumb over her nipple. Alannah smiles down at her.</p><p>“You’re cute,” she says before she’s leaning in to kiss Elyse breathless again and put her hands on her. She unhooks her bra, lets Elyse slip it off herself.</p><p>Her heart his beating rapidly as Alannah kisses her way down the center of her chest and stomach. Just as she sets her hands on the waistband of Elyse’s leggings.</p><p>“Can I eat you out?” Alannah asks casually like you’d ask someone what they want to see at the movies. Her teeth scrape against a piece of skin on her hipbone and Elyse shivers.</p><p>“Yeah, yeah, just . . . do it.”</p><p>Alannah huffs pleasantly and starts to peel down Elyse’s leggings and panties. Elyse fixes her gaze up on the ceiling because if she takes a look at Alannah there, thinking of the way she flicks her tongue against her clit, she’ll probably lose it in five seconds. She keeps her arms above her head, pressing against the arm of the couch to keep herself rooted to the spot.</p><p>She sighs, lips parted as Alannah takes her clit into her mouth and sucks hard. She spreads her legs wider to accommodate her, draw her in so she keeps on getting this. She feels one of Alannah’s hands on her thigh, working inward to the softer, more sensitive skin of her inner leg.</p><p>She comes rather quickly for herself. Nerves and arousal that was built up all too quickly throughout the night and days they’ve been around each other. When she comes to her sense, blinking wearily up at the ceiling, Alannah has already sat up, is pulling a blanket over Elyse’s body, and gets her shirt from the ground. She grabs Alannah’s wrist as she goes by.</p><p>“Hey, did you—”</p><p>“Oh, I took care of myself. You get pretty blissed out. Don’t worry about it.”</p><p>She lets her go, and she comes back from the kitchen with water for the both of them.</p><p>When Elyse has recovered a bit more and after Alannah has offered her some of her clothing, they retreat to Alannah’s bed to relax for the rest of the night.</p><p>“Remind me that we should talk business at some point,” Elyse says. They’re both on their sides, facing each other. “Can’t let my crew think I’m doing this all for fun.”</p><p>“Of course. If this is a perk, then I’m all ears.”</p><p>“Can’t say it’ll be a regular thing, but I can get my schedule out.”</p><p>Alannah smiles and moves in to press her nose into Elyse’s neck, scenting up a bit, and Elyse lets it happen because she knows how alphas can be, and she’d be lying if she said she didn’t enjoy this.</p><p>They make breakfast together in the morning, and Elyse finally leaves in her clothes from last night back to her apartment with James. Benson is the first to greet her, nails clipping along the floor. She realizes James isn’t alone when she spots Lawrence and Adam on the couch together. They probably stayed the night then.</p><p>“Looks like someone had fun,” Adam says, grinning up at her from where he has his head on Lawrence’s lap.</p><p>“You’re one to talk, Mr. Two Alphas.”</p><p>Adam sticks his tongue out at her, and Elyse turns when James walks up to her.</p><p>“Did you get it done?”</p><p>She nods. “We talked a bit this morning and came to an understanding, so she’s open to whatever we got.”</p><p>James nods, looks relieved. They hug and kiss after the night apart, and that’s when James gets in close, gets a whiff and asks, “What were you up to last night?”</p><p>Elyse pulls back and says, “A lady never kisses and tells.”</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>